tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post7385247207413873793..comments2018-01-11T13:19:41.906-08:00Comments on Robert Frost's Banjo: "The Alchemy of Chance"John Hayeshttps://plus.google.com/117711762452193592434noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-16596541528893924442011-02-03T14:18:54.667-08:002011-02-03T14:18:54.667-08:00Hi HKatz: Glad you liked the review! Yes, a very ...Hi HKatz: Glad you liked the review! Yes, a very good &amp; absorbing read!John Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-65348558444182201712011-02-03T12:39:23.923-08:002011-02-03T12:39:23.923-08:00Thanks for the review, it sounds like a novel I&#3...Thanks for the review, it sounds like a novel I&#39;d be interested in (and the excerpt you provide promises good writing!)HKatzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-26592254542850855772011-01-31T10:39:13.060-08:002011-01-31T10:39:13.060-08:00Hi Kat: You would enjoy it I think, &amp; it would...Hi Kat: You would enjoy it I think, &amp; it would be worth it when it fits into your book budget. I also believe Tangerine Tree Press is most deserving of support. Thanks!John Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-21233777802336216922011-01-31T09:29:38.221-08:002011-01-31T09:29:38.221-08:00This definitely sounds like a book I would really ...This definitely sounds like a book I would really enjoy. (Have to check the finances and see if I can manage it.)<br />I just finished a book that splendidly touches on that ability of a musician-character to transform himself and his immediate world when he plays (even though he can be a really cruel human being, he can mesmerize an audience with his fiddle).<br /><br />I loved that book and it sounds like I need to give Brooks&#39;s book a go as well.<br /><br />Thanks for an expert review, John. Thanks also to Sheila Graham-Smith for passing it on to you.<br /><br />KatKat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-29439751761243601112011-01-31T08:04:36.755-08:002011-01-31T08:04:36.755-08:00Hi Dick &amp; Jules
Dick: I think you might like ...Hi Dick &amp; Jules<br /><br />Dick: I think you might like this novel quite well--yes, Mr Brooks&#39; descriptions of music are always intriguing (Aurelie plays the cello in a few other scenes), &amp; he has a real knack for describing process in general.<br /><br />Jules: So glad you like the review--thanks.John Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-7716231368341623082011-01-31T02:51:19.275-08:002011-01-31T02:51:19.275-08:00A really perceptive and interesting Review. The A...A really perceptive and interesting Review. The Alchemy of chance was one of my favourite books on Authonomy. and still is.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03337067374481717960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-38896584862039618602011-01-30T22:51:38.346-08:002011-01-30T22:51:38.346-08:00It sounds like an exciting read. 1977 was one of t...It sounds like an exciting read. 1977 was one of the key years in that spasmodic ratchetting forward of culture, popular and mainstream, that sometimes occurs. And what a wonderful description of live music - full of the spirit of punk that was infecting the moribund scene at the time.patteranhttp://patteran.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-74209594193884533052011-01-30T13:05:05.282-08:002011-01-30T13:05:05.282-08:00Hi Pete &amp; Glenn
Pete: I&#39;m glad you liked ...Hi Pete &amp; Glenn<br /><br />Pete: I&#39;m glad you liked the review. There are any number of themes within the book that to which one could devote a review of this length (at least)--for instance, twinning is obvious major, &amp; I gave it short shrift here. I wondered if you played music or not--considering you&#39;re not a musician, I&#39;d have to congratulate you even more on the musical scenes--well done! &amp; thanks for following the blog.<br /><br />Glenn: Yes, I&#39;m in complete agreement about Aurelie--a truly fascinating &amp; fully realized character. Thanks for stopping by, &amp; for following Robert Frost&#39;s Banjo!John Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-37130455562406505802011-01-30T12:50:32.370-08:002011-01-30T12:50:32.370-08:00Fabulously eloquent and insightful review. Alchemy...Fabulously eloquent and insightful review. Alchemy was one of the first books I read on Authonomy and Aurelie remains a poignantly vivid and compelling character.Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04595341203764802002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-4639645501898392072011-01-30T12:40:41.151-08:002011-01-30T12:40:41.151-08:00Every now and then (if you’re lucky) a reader / co...Every now and then (if you’re lucky) a reader / commentator comes along who not only sees and describes what you have written, but brings their own special take on it to the table. In doing this, in creating alternative reverberations, they add to the stock of perceptions available to other readers. It’s a wondrous but elusive skill. Editor-publisher Sheila managed it, as did faraway co-writer friend, Glenn Hayes. <br /><br />Now I’m confronted with another new light on aspects of the book. I worked all along with master plans, but I am humbled by your introduction of fresh notions of adaptability and the power of transformation, in particular the reference to the cello scene, not least because you are a musician and I am not. My enquiries must have been subliminal. Thank you, John, for holding up a mirror.Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782969985980681259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-85136257454750681432011-01-30T10:52:34.884-08:002011-01-30T10:52:34.884-08:00Hi Sheila: So glad you liked it--was very happy to...Hi Sheila: So glad you liked it--was very happy to do this.John Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-73654337553116579272011-01-30T10:15:04.066-08:002011-01-30T10:15:04.066-08:00Hi John. Thank you so much for your wonderful revi...Hi John. Thank you so much for your wonderful review of &#39;The Alchemy of Chance.&#39; It&#39;s difficult to do justice to a novel, give a real sense of it, in a review but you&#39;ve certainly managed it here.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08789453390762057934noreply@blogger.com